BEIRUT — Washington’s recent decision to significantly ease export controls for the UAE should give a boost to the Emirates’ domestic production of high-tech drones and other military hardware, thanks to more available dual-use tech like computer chips, analysts told Breaking Defense.
The US Commerce Department announced on July 10 that the Emiratis will be upgraded to the A:5 export country group, making the UAE the first Arab state — and the second Middle Eastern state after Israel — to be granted the coveted status.
“They’ll have much cleaner and easier access to dual-use technology and other technologies with defense implications,” Michael Horowitz, a former senior Pentagon official who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, told Breaking Defense. “While munitions are governed by the US munitions list, controlled by the State Department, the decision by the Commerce Department will make UAE access to American technology substantially easier.”
Experts who spoke to Breaking Defense don’t expect this new designation to change the status quo of the major F-35 deal to the UAE that was stalled due to US concerns over Abu Dhabi’s use of China’s Huawei 5G network in the country. Nor should it impact MQ-9 Reaper exports to Abu Dhabi. Both of those deals are regulated by International Traffic in Arms Regulations and enforced by the US State Department.
But experts see the A:5 classification as an opening to other defense programs more generally, providing more flexibility to the growing Emirati defense market, especially to acquire subsystems.
“The most immediate defense implication is not necessarily the announcement of a single major weapons sale,” said Kristian Alexander, a geopolitical analyst based in the UAE. “Rather, it is the creation of a more permissive regulatory environment for the routine movement of controlled components, software, technical data and dual-use equipment. That can shorten procurement timelines, make sustainment less cumbersome and facilitate closer cooperation between American defense companies and UAE institutions.”
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said the decision was made in “recognition of the UAE’s status as a U.S. Major Defense Partner and its support in advancing U.S. national security interests, including Operation Epic Fury.”
“BIS will remove the UAE from EAR Country Groups D:3 and D:4, which will, among other things, eliminate restrictions on support for the UAE’s unmanned aerial vehicle programs,” the Commerce Department said in its announcement.
The upgrade to A:5 will make the UAE government, and approved companies in the country, eligible for license-free exports, re-exports, and in-country transfers of certain military items, some “commercial satellites and spacecraft; and dual-use items useful in oil and gas production, desalination, civil nuclear power generation, and/or other items available to Country Group A:5 destinations,” according to the Commerce Department.
Horowitz said this puts the UAE on what is essentially a “most preferred list” of export countries. He added that countries joining this list “receive preferential access to advanced American technology, meaning they have to jump through fewer hoops to important advanced American equipment such as semiconductors.”
Alexander noted that Emirati firms like the sprawling defense conglomerate EDGE Group could benefit from the new designation by gaining easier access to “components, production equipment, software and technical cooperation.”
Albert Vidal, a research analyst for the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the programs that might benefit from this new status include a joint venture between Anduril and EDGE to manufacture drones. And while the change may not affect the UAE’s bid to acquire MQ-9 drones, Vidal said that if that deal is approved, the new A:5 status could facilitate the existing proposal from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Abu Dhabi-based Calidus Aerospace to co-produce the aircraft in the UAE.
C. Mark Brinkley, a spokesperson for General Atomics, agreed the change wouldn’t affect “current MQ-9 discussions,” but said it “does many things to support U.S. defense partnerships with the UAE overall, and is expected to help us work more closely together with much less red tape.”
The Commerce announcement also specifically cited the benefits for the UAE when it comes to AI. Vidal also said the new status will replace “case-by-case approvals of advanced chips sales for license-free access, for both the UAE government and G42, which will accelerate the country’s AI ambitions.”
G42 is an Abu Dhabi-based technology and artificial intelligence holding company. It was listed alongside a subsidiary, Core 42, as entities that “may receive items license-free” in the Commerce Department announcement. However, during Aspen Security Forum 2026 last week, G42 chief global affairs officer Talal Al Kaissi said that when it comes to AI compute, the new status doesn’t remove all regulations and restrictions.
“The A:5 has other benefits around space and around other types of technologies. But as it relates to AI compute, there are still going to be the right guardrails in place, and G42 are going to continue to double down on that effort because we see this as part of a competitive advantage that we have in the world we’re heading towards,” he said.
Horowitz said the reclassification to A:5 is also likely intended to push UAE firms towards partnerships with American, rather than Chinese, companies.
“The goal of the policy change is undoubtedly to increase the competitiveness of US companies in the UAE market and prevent China from becoming the vendor of choice for the UAE across the AI stack. Whether this works or not remains to be seen,” Horowitz said.